SEMA 2016: 100 Years Of Ford Crankshafts With SCAT

SCAT Crankshafts is a household name in engine performance products. Their offerings suit the needs of racers from all fields of motorsports and across the spectrum of platforms. We stopped by the SCAT booth this year at SEMA to chat with owner Tom Lieb about the footprint left on the engine aftermarket over the past century.

“We make cranks for Fords from 1906 to 2016, that’s 100 years of crankshafts for Ford,” Lieb pointed out. This is a momentous anniversary and anniversaries seem to be a trend this year, with both the SEMA Show and Chevrolet Camaro celebrating 50 years.

IMG_4987Demand for Ford cranks in early models is greater than we expected according to Lieb; “There’s 300,000 Model T Fords still out in the ether somewhere.The 4-cylinder Ford was from 1906-1934, and then the flathead started in ’32 and went to ’53. We sell on an average, two of the 4-cylinder and two of the flatheads cranks per day — either as a complete rotating assembly or just the cranks.”

IMG_4988Of course the pushrod small-block Ford is still a popular powerplant for many that haven’t jumped on the modular platform, but SCAT caters to both crowds. “Then we move over into the FE series, which is a little more modern, then into the 302, 351 cranks. It’s kinda neat that it’s not just that we’re Ford guys, but we’re Ford guys,” Lieb continued.

Looking into the future, we asked Tom about the Voodoo engines and their flat-plane cranks. Can we expect to see more aftermarket support for this exotic engine in the future? He replied in anecdotal form but the message was:

“The Voodoo flat-plane cranks are really a specialized piece, and most guys don’t understand why they did that, but the reason is really quite simple … you can have equal length headers and tune them to influence the intake.”

IMG_4994

We may have to wait a while longer for the general domestic V8 enthusiast to come around to the reasoning behind flat-plane cranks, but when they do, we’re sure SCAT will be there to help their build along.

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About the author

Trevor Anderson

Trevor Anderson comes from an eclectic background of technical and creative disciplines. His first racing love can be found in the deserts of Baja California. In 2012 he won the SCORE Baja 1000 driving solo from Ensenada to La Paz in an aircooled VW. Trevor is engaged with hands-on skill sets such as fabrication and engine building, but also the theoretical discussion of design and technology. Trevor has a private pilot's license and is pursuing an MFA in fine art - specifically researching the aesthetics of machines, high performance materials and their social importance to enthusiast culture.
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